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Skepta
|birth_place = Tottenham, London, England | genre = | occupation = | years_active = 2003–present | label = * AATW * Island }} OVO RECORDS (2013- Present) | associated_acts = | website = }} Joseph Junior Adenuga (born 19 September 1982), better known by his stage name Skepta, is a British grime artist, rapper, songwriter, record producer and music video director. Adenuga released his debut studio album Greatest Hits in late-2007 and his second, Microphone Champion in 2009, both independently, while his third studio album Doin' It Again was released in 2011 by AATW. His fourth studio album, Konnichiwa, was released on 6 May 2016 to critical acclaim, winning that year's Mercury Prize. Skepta's brother, and labelmate is the well known grime artist Jme.They have collaborated many times, most recently on his album Konnichiwa. Adenuga has stated ‘DIY’ music is the future and told Time Out magazine, "I’m not a rapper. I’m an activist." His influence on contemporary British popular culture as a key figure in the grime scene saw him appear on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK. Early life Skepta was born Joseph Junior Adenuga on September 19, 1982 in Tottenham, North London, United Kingdom to immigrant parents from Nigeria. The eldest of four siblings, the family grew up on Meridian Walk Estate, a council estate in Tottenham, North London. Career Skepta began emceeing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother Jme and fellow rapper Joseph Bamber joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2006. Following the formation of Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2, in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history. Shortly after the clash, Skepta released a mixtape entitled "Joseph Junior Adenuga". 2003–06: Career beginnings, Joseph Junior Adenuga and Greatest Hits Skepta is a British Nigerian. |title=Skepta|last=O'Brien |first=Jon |work=AllMusic |accessdate=3 April 2012}} He is the brother of fellow musician Jme and radio presenter Julie Adenuga. Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime crew Meridian Crew. Early in his career, Skepta released a number of instrumentals, the most notable being "DTI (Pirate Station Anthem)" and "Private Caller", the latter of which was released as a single and vocaled by various other members of Meridian Crew. Skepta began emceeing shortly before Meridian Crew disbanded in 2005, after which Skepta, alongside his brother Jme, joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming founding members of Boy Better Know in 2006. Following the formation of Boy Better Know, Skepta clashed with fellow MC Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2, in what is remembered as one of the biggest clashes in grime history. Shortly after the clash, Skepta released a mixtape entitled "Joseph Junior Adenuga". Skepta publicly released his debut album Greatest Hits on 17 September 2007, on his label Boy Better Know. 2008–11: Microphone Champion and Doin' it Again Skepta self-released the first single "Rolex Sweep" in September 2008 and reached number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. Skepta then released the album Microphone Champion on 1 June 2009. He then also released single "Too Many Man" with Jme, Wiley, Frisco and Shorty, which went to chart at number 79. Skepta has released five singles off his third studio album Doin' It Again (first with a major label), titled "Bad Boy", "Rescue Me", "Cross My Heart" featuring Preeya Kalidas, "So Alive" and "Amnesia", as well as a video for the Hello Good Morning (Grime Remix). Three singles charted in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Rescue Me" being the most successful at number 14. "Cross My Heart" came in at number 31 and dropped out of the Top 40 a week later. Doin' it Again spent 3 weeks in the top 100 album charts and debuted and peaked at number 19 on its first week of release. In 2011 Skepta caused a big controversy by releasing a hardcore music video of his single "All over the house". 2012–present: Blacklisted and Konnichiwa 2016]] In 2012, Skepta released two singles from his fourth forthcoming album. Both "Hold On" and "Make Peace Not War" were Top 40 charting singles in the UK but were a departure from Skepta's usual sound. Skepta's second major label album was intended to be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, entitled The Honeymoon but was delayed till 2012. After a disappointing response from the first two singles Skepta decided to release a purchasable mixtape, titled Blacklisted. It was released on 2 December 2012 along with music videos to support the release prior to the release. In March 2014, Skepta provided a verse for the remix of "German Whip" by Meridian Dan, and in the same month, he released his new single, "That's Not Me", featuring his brother Jme, peaking at number 21 on the UK charts. The single's music video won the award for Best Video at the 2014 MOBO Awards. Upon receiving the award, Skepta stated that the video cost him £80. Best Video Award acceptance speech at MOBO Awards 2014 |date=22 October 2014 |publisher=MOBO Awards / YouTube |accessdate=16 August 2015}} In late 2014, Skepta released another single titled "It Ain't Safe" featuring A$AP Bari. This was followed in early 2015 with "Shutdown", as well as features on "Red Eye to Paris" by Flatbush Zombies and the remix of "Ojuelegba" by Wizkid, also featuring Drake. Skepta and others joined Kanye West at a surprise show in London, performing numerous songs together during a shared set. He was also named one of GQ s 50 best dressed British men in 2015. In an interview it stated that Skepta's making his acting debut in 2015 film Anti-Social Released initially in May. On 14 February 2016 Skepta released his latest song "Ladies Hit Squad" featuring grime artist D Double E and American rapper A$AP Nast, of the New York-based A$AP Mob. Through a post on Instagram, Skepta announced that his album, Konnichiwa was due to be released on 6 May 2016. Konnichiwa was released to critical acclaim and became Grime's highest charting album, peaking at number 2 in the UK music charts. Konnichiwa features songs such as "That's Not Me", "Shutdown" and "Man". The release of Konnichiwa was celebrated with a launch party on 5 May 2016 held in Tokyo and live streamed on Boiler Room, featuring a live performance of the entire album by Skepta and supporting performances from Japanese trap artists Kohh, Dutch Montana, Loota, and DJ Riki. NME.COM|last=NME.COM|website=NME.COM|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-05-24}} Thump|website=Thump|language=en-CA|access-date=2016-05-24}} Skepta began his "Banned From America" two-part, 14-show tour on April 16, 2017 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which will cover cities throughout the United States and Europe. The tour was named as such in reference to Skepta's forced cancellation of his 2016 "No Fear" American tour in support of Konnichiwa, when his application for a visa to enter the United States was denied. Discography Studio albums * Greatest Hits (2007) * Microphone Champion (2009) * Doin' It Again (2011) * Konnichiwa (2016) Mixtapes * Joseph Junior Adenuga (2006) * Been There Done That (2010) * Community Payback (2011) * Blacklisted (2012) * The Tim Westwood Mix (2015) Awards and nominations References External links * Category:1982 births Category:Black British musicians Category:Black British male rappers Category:Nigerian male rappers Category:Yoruba musicians Category:Living people Category:English people of Yoruba descent Category:English people of Nigerian descent Category:NME Awards winners Category:Grime music artists